This is such a fun fiber story and the perfect follow up to The Secret To Social Media Success post. One night, in the wee hours when I should have been sleeping but was up late crocheting away, I took a break and hopped on Instagram. I LOVE the Instagram "discover" feature. Have you used it? I can honestly say I have found some of my favorite accounts and fiber friends using this feature. It is such a great way to truly randomly discover new people.  And one such person is Alex Reynoso, of Alex Creates.

It must have been about 1:30 am my time which meant it was even later for him and he was listening to some amazing music and knitting and spinning his fibers. I thought I had hit the Instagram "discover" jackpot trifecta: A fellow New Yorker, A fiber artist AND listens to great music. So I messaged him and struck up a conversation. Of course, my very first question was: "What are you listening to?". "Childish Gambino" he replied. "WHO?" I answered. And just like that I hit up the iTunes, bought some great new music and had a new fiber friend.

Over time I got to chat with Alex more and discover his fibers. I had never purchased indie hand dyed yarn over the internet or social media (more on that in a future post) but this seemed like a good time to take that leap. Especially because Alex is one of the few indie dyers to offer chunky fibers. So I reached out, clicked his website and bought some of his luscious hand dyed ombres.

I was not disappointed. The colors are so vibrant and fabulous and the weight of the yarn is somewhere between worsted and chunky which is a great hat and scarf weight. It has a great texture too. I really love the way the yarn worked up for my hat giving the illusion of Fair Isle without having to do the work to create Fair Isle color changes. That is a dang nice bonus! I wish there was a bit more of the color in the ombre. The hat was perfect but I ended up frogging the scarf because it was just so much ivory. So I went with making 2 hats, which I just love. I may make a scarf out of all the left over yarn and ivory from those skeins. I haven't decided yet. I really love the texture of the fiber so hate it to go to waste.  I have some holiday plans for the green ombre I got too. 

And, I am very excited that Alex wanted to team up with me & Vanessa of Vanessa Knits for our Urban Jungle Collaboration featuring 3 designs inspired by the awesomeness of New York City. Two knits and one crochet.  Read more about the collaboration here.

The fibers for this collaboration range from fingering weight to chunky and are just delicious. The color scheme for this collaboration is the perfect depiction of the concrete but beautiful urban jungle New York City is.  The first design of the 3 piece collection is the Gotham Nights Scarf by Vanessa Knits, to be followed by a chunky cowl and a spring crochet wrap. The perfect accessories for you to make and enjoy!

I am so thankful it was just my good fortune to be wandering the halls of Instagram in the wee hours on a crochet break. So if you have not yet hit the instagram discover link, what are you waiting for? You never know what inspiration or friend you may find! Or have you already found new fiber friends through the discover feature? Would love to hear your stories below in the comments!